Drinking standing up

No. 175 – From Abu Huraira who said: the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said: ‘One of you should not dare drink standing up.’ In another wording: From Abu Huraira said: from the Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam-: that he saw a man drinking standing up, so the Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said to him: ‘Vomit it out.’ The man asked: ‘Why?’ He -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said: ‘Would it please you that a cat drank along with you?’ The man answered: ‘No.’ The Messenger said: ‘For indeed, someone more evil than a cat drank along with you! Shaytan!!’

[Collected by Ahmad, Darmi and Tahawi , and Al-Albaani said this chain is Saheeh.]

No. 176/2175 – From Abu Huraira who said that Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said: ‘If the person who drank whilst standing knew what was in his stomach, he would vomit it out.’

[Collected by Ahmad and Albaani said it was Saheeh]

No. 177 – From Anas from the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam-: that ‘he prohibited’ – and in another wording: ‘rebuked us’ – from drinking while standing.’

Shaykh Albaani commented: ‘The evident prohibition in these Ahadeeth acknowledge the prohibition of drinking whilst standing if you do not have an excuse.

There are many Ahadeeth which mention that the Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- drank standing up, so the scholars have differed in bringing harmony between the two different types of Ahadeeth. The majority of the scholars hold the opinion that the prohibition is not a total prohibition, and that the command of vomiting after having drank is only a recommended action.

Ibn Hazm opposed them in this, and went with the ruling of the prohibition to drink standing up, and perhaps this opinion is closer to being correct. As for the opinion that it is not a total prohibition then the wording ‘rebuked’ does not support that opinion, nor does the command ‘to vomit’, and what I mean by this is, that vomiting is a severe hardship upon humans, and I am not aware of such a hardship in the Sharia’ as a consequence for being lax about a recommended action!

Likewise the saying of the Messenger –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam-:

‘Indeed Shaytan drank with you.’ Then this is a strict deterrent from drinking whilst standing up, and it cannot be inferred from this, that it is possible to say that, not sitting whilst drinking is merely leaving a recommended action.

As for the Ahadeeth which mention drinking whilst standing up, then we can assume that this is when there is an excuse for it, like if there is no space to sit, or that it is a hanging water skin and you need to reach it and this point has been indicated in some Ahadeeth, and Allaah knows Best.’